Bhubaneswar, Nov 24: Empowering women to handle key political and social responsibilities is a strategic necessity to build an inclusive culture and strengthen governance, diplomats and representatives from eight countries in India said here on Monday.
The need to break down structural barriers and provide equal opportunities to women to enable them to flourish in different spheres is key to development and governance, the speakers said while addressing an international conference on ‘Redefining Leadership: The Rise of Women in Global Governance’ at the SOA Deemed to be University.
“The participation of women in governance is needed and they must be fully involved as they bring innovation and resilience to whatever they do,” Juan Antonio March Pujol, Ambassador of Spain, said. “Human dignity should be at the centre of governance and it should be accepted that leadership is not the responsibility of a few. It should be inclusive and compassionate,” Pujol said.
The conference, which was presided over by SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, was also addressed by Dharmakumar Seeraj, Ambassador of Guyana, Dr. Abdenor Khelifi, Ambassador of Algeria, Aisheth Azeema, High Commissioner of Maldives, Harisoa Lalatiana Accouche, High Commissioner of Seychelles, Kayshav Persaud Tewari, First Secretary, Embassy of Guyana, Antonio Maria De Jesus Dos Santos, Second Secretary, Embassy of Timor Leste and Arlette Gabriela Bustamante Garcia, Counsellor from the Embassy of Bolivia. Prof. Neeta Mohanty, SOA’s Pro-Vice Chancellor welcomed the diplomats.
Describing it as an ‘interesting subject’, Seeraj said Guyana, a small country with a population of 8,00,000 had been making efforts to bring parity and equality in governance with women occupying crucial positions in the system. The government has been making investment in women’s health and economic empowerment.
Quoting research findings, Seeraj said at the present rate of progress it will take 130 years from now to ensure gender equality.
“Around 90,000 women are being trained in Guyana in various domains but much more needs to be done,” he said adding 37 per cent of the country’s population were of Indian origin.
Dr. Abdenor Khelifi, Ambassador of Algeria, said women in his country had displayed extraordinary courage as leaders while the nation had taken bold steps to encourage women to take part in the political process. “Fifty per cent of judges in Algeria are women while girls account for 63 per cent of university students in the country,” Dr. Khelifi said.
Aisheth Azeema, High Commissioner of Maldives, said traditionally, women have been the backbone of the society in her country and were playing a crucial role in climate advocacy. “There is no position women cannot reach,” she said adding such conferences would go a long way in creating a more resilient world.
Harisoa Lalatiana Accouche, High Commissioner of Seychelles, said leadership was not defined by gender but by vision, resilience and empathy. The new government which was sworn-in in Seychelles two weeks ago had eight young women in the list of 14 ministers, she said adding a 35-year-old woman served as the Speaker of the National Assembly. Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, SOA’s Dean (Students’ Welfare), proposed the vote of thanks.
